Cricket

Cricket Club 2017 / 2018

Men’s Captain: Henry Lewis

Women’s Captain: TBC

2016 / 2017

MEN’S CRICKET

Officer: Captain Maximilian Bhugra-Schmid

In cricket, perhaps more than any other sport, it feels as if the meanderings of a match, the road that leads to the result is often as important as the result itself. This was often the case during the 2017 season, in which Queen’s fielded an impressive team again and again, week in week out (with a few exceptions of course), only to be unjustly robbed of the victory over the course of a nail-biting last few overs. Alongside these close-fought games, there were games in which an undeniably stronger opponent dispatched the Queen’s XI with depressing ease, and yet the spirit and passion of the players were never quelled, and the players always fought valiantly until the end.

One quality which made Queen’s cricket so very enticing in the 2016 season was the eclectic selection of men who squeezed their way into undersized cricket jumpers and donned the famous Q.C.C.C. cap, and this proved to be even more the case this season, with players coming from all walks of college life. From the seasoned post-grads to the wide-eyed freshers, weak at the knees, the cricket team presented more faithful a cross-section of the Queen’s College than anything else.

Before moving onto the performances in the second division this season, it is worth lingering for a moment on Queen’s short-lived run in the Cuppers tournament. Beaming with confidence, and fashionably late, the Queen’s contingent made its way to the obnoxiously located St Anne’s ground for what promised to be a close-run contest. Such promises were not fulfilled and the St Anne’s team made quick work of their High Street opponents. Chins were down and spirits crushed, but with the realisation that this would allow Q.C.C.C. to focus fully on the league, merriment quickly filled the ranks of the team.

Unfortunately, the overall quality of the second division seemed to have increased, and no one saw fit to alert Queen’s to this development. After a disappointing loss to St Peter’s in the first game of the season, tensions ran high when the Jesus fixture had to be conceded just minutes before the game was due to begin. Only four players had turned up, the team was in disarray, the elders of Q.C.C.C. furious, and the freshers nowhere to be seen. Third week, however, saw a return to form of epic proportions, and bolstered by the appearance of Guy Ferguson, somewhat known for his average footballing skills, Queen’s pulled off a gargantuan victory over Oriel with Ferguson scoring a scorching 42* off only 18 balls, ably abetted by Henry Hodgson, also scoring 42*. The excitement was palpable at the end of the game, and there was a real sense among the players that after a somewhat slow start to the season, Q.C.C.C. were really going somewhere.

Sadly, this premonition proved to be wildly off the mark, and after a rained off game against Keble, and a thrilling game against Exeter that ended narrowly in defeat, the Queensmen seemed to lose their way a bit, and though the final game of the season against Christ Church displayed qualities such as grit, slogging and sarcasm, it was not enough to save Queen’s from the swampy lower regions of the division 2 table, but then again, winning is not everything.

As per tradition, there were also two fantastic Old Members’ games, arguably the highlights of the season. The Lemmings game belonged to Ed Audland, a dab hand at hockey, who won hearts with his stunning 74, though it was not enough to wrest victory from the former Queensmen. A few weeks later, as Summer Eights droned on alongside Fortress Riverside, the Lemmings returned, this time to compete against an even older team, the Crocodiles, with a sprinkling of current Queen’s members to make up the numbers. It was a glorious match and, despite the wealth of experience on both sides, it was a current member of the College, Sachintha Dias, who stole the show with his magnificent 98.

Other highlights included Charles “Dr Avo” Avery’s stunning double-wicket maiden against Pembroke and Andrew “AJ” Jones’ sublime bowling throughout the canpaign. Though 2017 did not represent the most successful season for Queen’s, it was certainly memorable in more ways than one!